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A History: The Norwich Arts School

Founded in 1890, the Norwich Art School was established by the Norwich Free Academy’s Trustees as more than a high school art department — it was conceived as a “school within a school,” modeled after university art programs and open to both secondary and post-secondary students.

From its earliest days, the Art School was deeply connected to the Slater Memorial Museum, reflecting the Academy’s belief that art and education should serve the broader community. Early classes were held in the Museum, giving students daily access to its remarkable collections. Classes were offered day and evening in five rooms, and by 1895, students formed the Norwich Art Association to foster camaraderie and collaboration. The school quickly expanded to include Saturday morning programs for children—a proud and popular community tradition that continues today through the Saturday Morning Children's Art Program.

Students in the Norwich Arts School painting in the studio
An advertisement for the Norwich Art School, featuring information about its classes
A black and white photograph of an interior space with a large sign reading %22NORWICH ART SCHOOL ANNUAL EXHIBITION%22 above the entrance, and various artworks displayed on the walls
A black and white photograph of the Converse Building, an ornate brick building with arched windows and a peaked roof
By 1900, Norwich Art School Director Ozias Dodge and his wife Hannah Sprague Dodge sought a dedicated home for the growing program. With generous support from Colonel Charles Augustus Converse, the Converse Art Building was completed in 1906, providing classrooms and a glass-roofed exhibition gallery. The first student exhibition in the new space opened on June 6, 1907, establishing a proud annual tradition.
 

The curriculum grew steadily: initial courses in Drawing, Design, and Art History were joined by jewelry and metalworking, pottery, lettering, and later sculpture, printmaking, and various crafts.

The Art School became known nationwide for excellence in art education. In 1934, the Carnegie Magazine recognized the Norwich Art School as one of only two schools in the nation providing the best art instruction for high school students.

As student enrollment and course offerings increased, additional classrooms were added in other campus buildings, including the Norton Gym and Norton Peck Library, and the Slater basement was renovated in the late 1980s to provide more studio space.

For more than a century, the Norwich Art School has fostered creativity through both tradition and innovation. Courses in painting, design, metalwork, pottery, and sculpture were—and continue to be—taught by professional artists actively practicing their craft. The school’s programs expanded to include continuing education for adults and post-graduate opportunities, serving learners of all ages.

In 2005, the opening of the Sidney E. Frank Center for the Visual and Performing Arts provided a new, state-of-the-art home for the Art School—bringing together NFA’s expansive programs in both visual and performing arts under one roof for the first time.
 
Today, the spirit of the Norwich Art School lives on through NFA's School of Visual and Performing Arts — continuing more than 130 years of dedication to nurturing creativity, artistic excellence, and community connection.